Re: Native English Speaking Requirement

Subject: Re: Native English Speaking Requirement
From: Erich Schildhauer <Erich -dot- Schildhauer -at- POET -dot- DE>
Date: Mon, 15 Sep 1997 12:12:41 +0200

I might be wrong, but I suspect this thread may have popped up in
response to our job posting for a Technical Writer last week. Let me
point out that we explicitly asked for applications from native *or
equivalent* speakers of English. I think Matthew Long is on the right
track when he says

> I am sure that if you were bound and determined to prove that your English
> skills were more than adequate to perform the duties of a position a
> company was looking to fill, you could persuade them to consider your
> skills. Honestly, if you are that confident that your skills are adequate,
> you could probably get away with not mentioning the fact that you are a
> non-native speaker when you apply.

I don't think it is necessary to keep your personal background a secret,
but you certainly must go into the application process using the
required language. Don't *tell* everybody how proficient you are --
*show* them. If every letter, every telephone conversation, every piece
of work in your portfolio is in the required language, your proficiency
will speak for itself.

Job postings are not engraved in stone, but if a posting calls for a
specific set of skills and/or credentials (whether writing skills,
language skills, technical knowledge or a degree in a specific subject)
it is up to you to show that you either *have* the required skills
and/or credentials or, if that is not the case, that you are
nevertheless *equally capable* of doing the job.

Before this turns into one of the never ending discussions, let's try to
find some common ground:

(a) There are individuals who reach a level of facility in a second
language comparable to a native speaker.

(b) Not every speaker of a language, native or foreign, is cut out to be
a (technical) writer.

(c) Mailing lists for technical writers are not the place to talk about
pet peeves or mean companies that don't hire terrific people for one
reason or another. I would offer a quote from
http://www.wilberwinkle.com/ but I certainly don't want to infringe on
Wilber's copyrights.

Cheers
Erich

--
Erich Schildhauer Phone: +49 40 60990-0
POET Software GmbH Fax: +49 40 60990-115
Fossredder 12 Mail: Erich -dot- Schildhauer -at- poet -dot- de
D-22359 Hamburg Info: http://www.poet.com/

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